Email Author Darryl Smyers

2005 Stories by Darryl Smyers

• Robert Deeble

  published June 16, 2005

  California's Robert Deeble is a critical fave who actually warrants the accolades. His last record, Thirteen Stories, is the ideal... More >>

• Mark Mulcahy

  published June 9, 2005

  Mark Mulcahy formed Miracle Legion in the mid-'80s. Initially deemed another in the wave of R.E.M. clones, the band signed to Rough Trade and... More >>

• Macon Greyson, Austin Collins

  published June 2, 2005

  "Do they play any of their own songs?" I asked the fan dancing in front of me. "This is one of their songs," she replied. But it wasn't.... More >>

• Chely Wright

  published May 19, 2005

  Soulful country balladeer Chely Wright might be too sexy for her own good. Her brand of country falls closer to Lucinda Williams than Faith Hill,... More >>

• Maktub

  published May 19, 2005

  Reggie Watts' voice is all Al Green, lilting yet dangerous, in control but ready to explode. As front man for this Seattle soul quintet, Watts has... More >>

• Black Lipstick

  published May 12, 2005

  This Austin foursome gets the shaft in some quarters for aping the Velvet Underground. Besides the delightfully amateurish pounding of drummer... More >>

• Summer at Shatter Creek

  published May 12, 2005

  With a whisper of a voice, Craig Gurwich, the lone member of Summer at Shatter Creek, spins sedate tales of loneliness and obsession on the remote... More >>

• Hayes Carll

  published April 14, 2005

  It's awful early into 2005 to claim a year's best country effort, but Little Rock, from Houston native Hayes Carll, hearkens back to a time... More >>

• Tiger Army

  published April 7, 2005

  Looking and sounding like the bastard sons of Brian Setzer and the late Joe Strummer, Tiger Army offers an enjoyably rough and thuggish variant on... More >>

• Young Gun

  published March 31, 2005

  Collin Herring is a little nervous. He fiddles with the butt of a cigarette, twisting and bending until it's just a pile of debris on the table... More >>

• Rodney Parker

  published March 31, 2005

  Joyfully reminiscent of John Hiatt's Bring the Family period, Denton's Rodney Parker plays country with just enough grit to escape any... More >>

• El Oso

  published March 17, 2005

  "The biggest surprises come from the smallest armies," sings El Oso front man Jim Hanke on "Country Radio," one of several insightful cuts on the... More >>

• Doris Henson

  published March 10, 2005

  On last year's potent White Elephant, Kansas City five-piece Doris Henson asked the eternal question, "Have you ever been called a whore by... More >>

• Fred Eaglesmith

  published March 3, 2005

  Like Lyle Lovett with a bad hangover, Fred Eaglesmith is a storyteller who has earned his keep. After his father lost the family farm, Eaglesmith... More >>

• Pat Metheny

  published February 24, 2005

  Guitar legend Pat Metheny has done nothing more than expand his horizons for nearly 30 years. Initially a fusion player lost in the '70s torrent... More >>

• Reckless Kelly

  published February 17, 2005

  "Seven Nights in Erie," the standout track on this Austin quintet's fine new release, makes explicit the connection between traditional Irish... More >>

• Shearwater

  published February 17, 2005

  Front man Jonathan Meiburg's vocals are so tender and delicate, it's a wonder they even make it out of his mouth. Like a choirboy in the desert,... More >>

• Cass McCombs

  published February 17, 2005

  Always be wary of those who throw around Hemingway and Raymond Carver in their bios, but McCombs' dreamy and incisive pop nearly backs up... More >>

• Castanets

  published January 13, 2005

  Basically the brainchild of one Raymond Roposa, Castanets makes what he calls "derailed pysch-country." Who am I to disagree with such astuteness?... More >>

• Mono

  published January 6, 2005

  In a brilliant assessment of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, critic Dave Marsh wrote that classical rock would never succeed simply by mating the... More >>